Sandy Hook

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Four Brave Men

As everyone in the whole wide world should know by now, last night the New York Senate approved the same-sex marriage law by a vote of 33 to 29. This bill would not have passed had it not been for four courageous Republicans who chose not to be pawns for the forces of evil which have been allowed to hijack their party.

The immoral conservatives opposed the bill on "moral grounds," or so they said, but only their stooges believe that kind of tripe. Their overriding motivation was to preserve their political hides. Leaders of the state's Conservative Party warned they would oppose any Republicans in legislative elections next year who voted for same-sex marriage. This should not be surprising in a party where the main requirement for membership is to look, act, talk, think and vote in tandem. No independent thinkers, that is - deviants, allowed.

With this threat looming over their heads, it is even more remarkable that the following four Republicans opted to walk a higher moral ground to vote in favor of same-sex marriage.

James S. Alesi - Rochester

Mark J. Grisanti - Buffalo

Stephen M. Saland - Hudson Valley

Roy J. McDonald - capital region

Each of these Republicans had their own reasons for supporting the bill but none stated it quite so succinctly as McDonald did just hours after Archbishop Timothy Dolan led a band of religious groups protesting same-sex marriage.

You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn't black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing," McDonald, 64, told reporters.

You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, f--- it, I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing.

I'm tired of Republican-Democrat politics. They can take the job and shove it. I come from a blue-collar background. I'm trying to do the right thing, and that's where I'm going with this.

Sanity within the Republican ranks!?Makes me think things might get better.No, this is just some Republican trick, or a mirage. If Republicans are going to start talking reasonably again, I might have to start talking to Republicans again.

@Infidel: I really applaud them for daring to go against the showtime religionists. I just hope they survive reelection, if they even decide to run again. Who knows, maybe they will start a new trend and other Republicans will return to being on the side of normalcy. And yes, McDonald's comments do sound like something Goldwater would say. He was captured on video but apparently it's been taken down.

@Tom: We can only hope their courage will encourage others to follow suit. Hell, I was married to one once upon a time. He wasn't stupid - don't know about sane. ; )

@BB: There are good people in every group. We just don't seem to hear from or about them these days.

@ALL: I encourage folks to send a brief email message to these guys. I'm sure they will appreciate a little praise from anyone, even those outside their districts.

Sing it, Sistah!! Like you, I'm a kid from a blue collar union family as well as doing my own union time as when I worked for Ma Bell. I am also am a Catholic. Long ago, I asked my priest about a matter of faith/doctrine and he advised me to form my own conscience on it, so I did and I've been doing it ever since which (big surprise -- not!) makes me renegade Catholic, I guess and I encourage others to do the same. This is definitely the right thing to do!

Unfortunately I have no doubt that the right-wing will come back at these guys ten times harder. They are an intolerant, vicious and vindictive bunch as we have seen time and time again. I don't know what the hell's wrong with these people.

Thanks for this! i just reposted it on XE. Now I have to look up how address a letter to thank each of these four guys. I love it that one of them came from Buffalo, one mighty blue collar town, and one from Rochester, where there's a fine institution of higher learning!! God bless these boys!

Whether or not he continues as a legislator, McDonald probably did himself in as a Republican. As you indicated, L.P., the GOP and its radical-right ideologue masters don't tolerate those who wander off the reservation well or for long.

It's unfortunate Dolan and other religious/arbiters of morality types can't seem to take two steps back, squint, think and realize the gist of Christ's deeds and teachings were all inclined toward inclusion, compassion and erring on the side of treating people fairly, the way we ourselves want to be treated.

Acknowledging that gays and lesbians are due the same rights and elbow space as the rest of us takes nothing away from the rest of us. It's not a hard thing to grasp unless ignorance or bigotry have so blinded a person that he or she can't look at others and see their humanity.

Hat tips and deep bows to these courageous men! And an HT to you, too, Les, for this good post. I see in your sidebar that Frank Schaeffer has a new book, btw; I like him. It's a joy to see minds change.

@Magpie: I say this with a great deal of sadness, but I'm not sure it isn't too late to save the Republican Party's soul. The stalwarts allowed themselves to be taken over the cliff by a bunch of greedy know-nothing ruffians by trading their principles for votes. In short, they sold their soul to the devil. And it was oh so predictable.

Boehner, like the rest of the GOP, eagerly courted the TP and now he's paying for it with Cantor's openly thumbing his nose at him.

Pam: It is true that without these four good men the bill would not have passed. If there had been more such members of the GOP over the last few years, perhaps the extremists would not have gained such a strangle-hold. I'm not trying to insult you personally, but by their silence in the face of such hate and bigotry, the GOP has given tacit approval to it.

@SW: Responding to your 2nd graph, you are 100 percent right. I also find it rather intriguing that a RC priest, cardinal or bishop would have the audacity to talk about morality in light of their own shady history with little boys.

@Nance. Thanks. Yes, Schaeffer is a good example of how someone can change their thinking. I just have some problems liking "him." No doubt he's still carrying a lot of psychological baggage as a result of his unusual upbringing.

Note: There appears to be another brave Republican in our midst. IN's Sec. of State has come out against the Voter ID law, saying:

"I would rather have no bill than one with a rigid photo identification provision that does little to protect against fraud and excludes legally registered voters’ ballots from counting.”

The Rushpubliscums are going to dissolve to their fringes, which means that they will only hold sway in the deep south and mountain west. But I have thought for a long time that this is actually their plan; when the country splits up because of their policies, they will be free at last to set up those third-world theocratic hellholes that they have always longed for.

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